Special Assistant to CM annoyed over not being invited

PESHAWAR: The inauguration ceremony of the recently renovated Peshawar Sports Complex was cancelled after Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Law and Parliamentary Affairs Arif Yousaf and his rowdy supporters blocked entrance to the stadium as he was annoyed at not being invited to the event.
Provincial Minister for Sports Mehmood Khan was the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony.
The ceremony was scheduled to begin at 12 noon but Arif Yousaf and his supporters came early and parked their vehicles in front of the main entrance to the stadium to prevent the chief guest from entering the premises.
The supporters of Arif Yousaf chanted slogans against provincial Minister for Sports Mehmood Khan and Director General Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Junaid Khan for not inviting him to the ceremony.
They also protested against increase in the stadium membership fee for players, students and other people.
Speaking on the occasion, Arif Yousaf complained that the stadium was located in his constituency PK-4 Peshawar but he was neither invited nor informed about the inaugural ceremony.
He said that seven players from PK-4 had won various championships and medals at international events but none of them was invited to the ceremony.
Asserting that it was his right to be informed and invited to the ceremony, Arif Yousaf said the Directorate of Sports had increased the stadium membership and monthly fee for various sports categories manifold.
“The membership and monthly fee were increased from Rs500 to Rs10,000 for various categories,” he added.
Arif Yousaf said that a number of poor players and students had approached him and expressed inability to pay the fee.
He said the Provincial Sports Ministry was making tall claims about promoting sports but in fact it was damaging sports and players by increasing the fees.
“A number of players and poor students are forced to practice and play in streets and other open places as they cannot pay the exorbitant fee for the stadium,” he added.
Arif Yousaf demanded the Provincial Sports Ministry to reverse the increase in membership and monthly fee and announce free membership for players and students to promote sports. “The ministry should not use sports for generating revenue,” he argued.
The representatives of Directorate of Sports tried to calm down the charged protesters and persuade Arif Yousaf to end the protest but they refused to do so and continued chanting slogans.
The protesters vowed not to let the minister enter the stadium.
After several failed attempts the Directorate of Sports cancelled the inaugural ceremony.
Director General Sports Junaid Khan said that they had earlier planned to invite Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to the ceremony but the plan was changed due to their unavailability.
He expressed disappointment over the development but couldn’t explain as to why the matter was not resolved earlier.
He added that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak would soon inaugurate the stadium at a ceremony.
About the increase in the stadium membership and monthly fee, Junaid Khan said the fees were fixed after consultation with the provincial government.
He said the government had spent huge funds on provision of facilities to players and other members at the Sports Complex. He claimed the Directorate of Sports was providing concession to poor players and students in membership and monthly fee.
To a question, he said that the decision to reduce the fees rested with the government and he would take up the issue at the appropriate forum.